Daniel Graystone
Dr. Daniel Graystone is the CEO and founder of Graystone Industries. He is one of the most wealthy industrialists in the Twelve Colonies. Personality Early Years Daniel Graystone was born on Caprica. Phoebus is his mother. He is musically talented and plays the piano. Daniel received his Ph.D. from Apollo University.Royall, Ann. "Graystone Computer Science Wing Coming to AU", The Caprican, Ianuarius 12, YR42. Retrieved on Feb 17, 2010. Daniel loved playing pyramid when he was growing up and dreamed of playing for the C-Bucs, but he was not very good at it. When he made his fortune he did the next best thing - he bought the Caprica Buccaneers. In 22YR he married Amanda. (2) While Amanda was pregnant with Zoe, they lived in a flat in Cloverdale. Times were hard and they were behind on the rent. They could not afford even upper level C-Bucs tickets. Daniel had a meeting at MicroCap. They were not interested in meeting with him, but he had called in a favor. He had a car that he loved, but it never worked, so he took the bus to MicroCap. He slipped in the rain helping a woman and walked into the meeting drenched and with a broken wrist. He presented his ideas for the holoband and the Virtual World. He walked out of the meeting with the deal that started everything. His daughter Zoe was born in 26YR. The Graystones moved to a house that Zoe loved. She planted a garden there with Amanda. The house burned down in a fire in 31YR. Zoe was five years old and was traumatized. Since then Zoe has been afraid of fire. As their fortunes increased, the Graystones moved into a mansion in the posh Lake District near Caprica City. The Graystones love to camp, but the last time they went camping, much less took any vacation, was in 35YR when Zoe was nine years old. They went to the Ionian Islands on Caprica. Family Life Marriage Zoe Daniel's daughter is contemptuous of his profession, calling it "dirty science." Daniel retorts that "dirty science" has put a roof over her head. Zoe has a contentious relationship with her mother. Daniel and Amanda receive a call from the Athena Academy regarding Zoe's illicit use of a holoband in school. Later, when Zoe is at home, the family engages in a heated argument, with most of the venom between mother and daughter. Amanda grounds Zoe and revokes many privileges including use of the holoband. Daniel reminds Zoe that she is to attend a building dedication ceremony at Apollo University the next day, so she is exempt from grounding for that event. The new computer science wing will be named after her. Zoe accuses her mother of marrying into money and Amanda slaps her. Zoe tells her mother she will regret that for the rest of her life. After she leaves the room, Amanda says she did not mean to do that. Daniel assures her that Zoe knows she did not. Tragedy The morning after the argument, Zoe rides with her mother to school, but leaves the campus instead of attending classes. She meets up with her best friend, Lacy Rand, and her boyfriend, Ben Stark, who have backpacks. They are going to Gemenon to begin new lives as Monotheists. They go to the MAGLEV train station. As the train pulls up, Lacy decides against the trip and stays on the platform. Zoe takes a seat and begins composing an e-mail to her mother. Annoyed at Ben's moodiness, Zoe remarks on it before noticing that he is wearing explosives around his body. Before she can stop him, Ben declares his action to be the will of the One True God and detonates the bomb - killing Zoe, himself and over five-hundred people. Aftermath Two weeks after the MAGLEV bombing, Daniel and Joseph Adama meet for for the first time outside City Hall. They discuss the family they lost in the bombing. Joseph lost his wife and daughter. They go to a diner and spend the day commiserating over coffee and cigarettes. Daniel invites Joseph and his son, William, to join him in his courtside seats at a Caprica Buccaneers pyramid game. Lacy visits the Graystone home to sit in Zoe's bedroom to feel close to her. She logs into V-World and sees Zoe's sentient twin avatar in the V-Club. Later, Daniel walks into the room. Lacy leaves in a hurry, leaving a confused Daniel. Daniel notices Zoe's e-sheet, which Lacy used to log into V-World. Military Contract At Graystone Industries, Daniel and Cyrus Xander conduct a test of their U-87 combat robot. It performs horribly, with Cyrus mentioning that they are over budget and behind schedule. Furthermore, he says that the government is entertaining the idea of going off-world to the Vergis Corporation. Disgusted, Daniel calls it a day. At home, Cyrus calls Daniel and informs him that Tomas Vergis has designed a functional meta-cognitive processor (MCP), a device which enhances artificial intelligence. This is the one piece of technology that the U-87 lacks and Daniel is incredulous. Daniel resumes cracking Zoe's computer sheet and accesses the V-Club. He sees Zoe's twin avatar and gives virtual chase. The twin accesses a room, but Daniel is unable to follow. Resurrection Lacy revisits the Graystone's home and attempts to log in to V-World when Daniel walks into the room. Lacy agrees to show Daniel around the V-Club and bring him to Zoe's twin. Daniel is amazed at Zoe's creation, but does not treat the twin as anything but an avatar. Later, the twin and Daniel catch up on old memories. Suddenly Daniel captures the program that created the avatar, removing it from V-World. Leaving virtual reality, Daniel escorts Lacy to the front door and revokes her access. After the game at Atlas Arena, Daniel introduces William to Rod Jenkins, a star pyramid player. In private, Daniel and Joseph discuss the opportunity to speak with Joseph's loved ones again. Joseph reveals some of his family history. Back at the Graystone home, Daniel and Joseph enter Virtual Reality. Zoe's twin is there, which disturbs Joseph who then quickly leaves the virtual space. Daniel and Joseph discuss the difference between an avatar and real life. Daniel shifts the conversation to the need for the MCP, which is owned by the Vergis Corporation. Daniel reveals that he knows of Joseph's association with the Ha'la'tha and asks him to use his mob connections to steal the MCP. Joseph delivers the MCP to Daniel. Daniel reveals he was able to create an avatar of his daughter, Tamara. Joseph visits the avatar in Virtual Reality. He hopes that they can be a family again, but Tamara is disturbed by how she got there, being in the dark, and that she cannot feel her heartbeat. She is inconsolable and Joseph leaves V-World quickly. He tells Daniel that the avatar is an abomination. Daniel defends his creation, but Joseph leaves in disgust. In virtual reality, Daniel and Zoe's twin discuss the download to a Cylon and his daughter's intentions. In real life, Daniel installs the MCP and Zoe's twin uploads. She briefly comes to life and calls him, "Daddy." Quickly the robot collapses and the avatar program crashes. In anguish, Daniel rushes into V-World, but Zoe's twin has disappeared. Later, at Graystone Industries, Daniel demonstrates his Cylon to the Minister of Defense, Joan Leyte. An impressed Leyte advises Daniel that he has won the contract and while the Vergis Corporation has made certain accusations, it was never the government's intention to award the contract off-world. Memorial Service and Fallout It has been one month since the MAGLEV bombing. Cyrus and Daniel realize that the U-87 prototype and the MCP chip have bonded in a way that cannot be reproduced with any other robotic unit. Therefore, Daniel orders the U-87 prototype sent to his home lab for study. Daniel and Amanda attend the opening ceremonies for the Buccaneers versus Olympia Stallions pyramid game. Daniel asks Amanda to stay for the game. She declines, saying she is not there yet. Graystone Industries is a major corporate sponsor of the MAGLEV Bombing Memorial Service at Apollo Park. Amanda wants to go, but Daniel declines saying he has too much work to do. He later confesses that he just does not want to think about it, but he will go if she decides to go. Daniel and Amanda attend the memorial ceremony. Amanda meets Ben's mother, Natalie Stark, who gives Amanda a package of Zoe's possessions, including an infinity pin. Joseph finds Daniel and demands to see Tamara's avatar again. Amanda realizes that Zoe belonged to the STO and erroneously assumes she was responsible for the bombing. Overcome with grief and guilt, she announces to the crowd at the memorial ceremony that her daughter was responsible for the bombing of MAGLEV Train No. 23. She apologizes to the furious crowd for her daughter's actions. Daniel and Sean whisk Amanda away in the car as police try to hold back the riotous crowd. Graystone Industries suffers as public opinion turns against the holoband and V-World. While Daniel works out at Red Gloves Gym, Cyrus recommends hiring public relations agent, Priyah Magnus, to help with the PR nightmare following Amanda's confession. Daniel does not want to do any PR. Outside the gym, Joseph's brother, Sam Adama, attacks Daniel and pummels him. Joseph walks over and demands to see Tamara's avatar again. Later, Daniel and Amanda discuss her public announcement of Zoe's STO affiliation. Cyrus and Priyah Magnus try to convince Daniel to appear on Baxter Sarno's talk show to defend his company, V-World and holobands, but Daniel refuses. Daniel takes Joseph back to V-World, but they are unable to find Tamara's avatar. Daniel sees news of the bad publicity against the Graystones. He calls and tells Cyrus to get him booked on Backtalk the next night. Backtalk Interview When Amanda held up the STO infinity symbol pin at the memorial service, that gave the Global Defense Department the evidence it needed to investigate the Graystone home for links to the MAGLEV bombing. Agent Jordan Duram leads a raid on the Graystone residence and confiscates everything in Zoe's room. Daniel goes on Backtalk and suffers in the interview. Amanda arrives backstage in time to hear Daniel say that Zoe was “troubled,” a description he wanted to avoid. Sarno accuses Daniel of creating a lawless environment that drove Zoe to blow up a train. Amanda reaches a tipping point and strides out onto the stage. Onstage, she and Daniel renew their defense of Zoe, saying that she was not inherently a bad person, rather an angry young woman who saw the horrible, moral lawlessness of the holoband. Because of that, the Soldiers of the One got to her. Sarno demands to know how Daniel knows this. Daniel confesses that he created an avatar of Zoe, much to Sarno's and Amanda’s shock. Continuing his reconciliation attempts, Daniel says the V-World might be to blame, since they thought they could control the content and were obviously wrong. Sarno pushes Daniel to consider a resolution. Daniel decides, on the spot, that Graystone Industries will no longer profit off of the V-World or holoband technologies. Amanda discusses setting up a foundation to help children adversely affected by their experiences in the V-World. All proceeds from the sale of holobands will fund this organization. The interview is turned around successfully and Sarno applauds Amanda on her save. Backstage, an irate Cyrus says that holoband sales are “sixty percent of our net” while Priyah Magnus contends that it is “great PR.” After the interview, Atkinson and Jon Parker call a meeting of the Board of Directors to decide whether to replace Daniel as CEO. Daniel attends the board meeting with the U-87 prototype, claiming that holobands and the V-World are no longer worth the investment and that the artificially sentient Cylons are the future of Graystone Industries. After a successful pitch and demonstration, the board votes to keep Daniel as CEO. Tomas Vergis Tomas Vergis visits and tells Daniel he owes him a blood debt for the deaths of two men connected to the theft of the MCP chip. Their children are his gods-children and two of them are now orphaned. He promises to destroy everything Daniel loves and bring Graystone Industries to ruin, saying, "My dream is to tear up your dream." Discovering Zoe Daniel suspects Zoe is in the U-87 when he sees Caesar barking at it. At first, Daniel encourages Zoe to reveal herself to him, promising to take her out of the U-87 body and into a more human body. Zoe continually remains silent. Later, Daniel instructs the U-87 to disassemble and reassemble a gun. She will only comply with his commands when he orders the robot since the robot is programmed to follow orders. While she does this, he talks about the house that burned down, the house that Zoe loved. He lights a cigarette and lets the match continue to burn, playing on Zoe's fear of fire. When Daniel is burned, the U-87 grips the gun tighter. Zoe contacts Lacy in the VIP room, trying to make sense of what Daniel is doing. Zoe realizes he is trying to get her to react as a human and not as a robot by using psychological warfare. On Daniel's next "test," he constructs a blazing pyre around her once again playing on her fear of fire. When he ignites it using a cigarette, Zoe defiantly remains where she is. Aside from a twitch in one of her hands, she gives Daniel no indication that she is there. Daniel tests Zoe one last time. He places a loaded gun in the U-87's hand and orders it to shoot Caesar. To prove that she is inside the robot, Zoe should refrain from shooting the dog. Otherwise the robot is programmed to follow Daniel's orders. Zoe does not want her father to know she is in the robot, so she masters her revulsion and carries out the orders. Frustrated and tearful, Daniel cedes the game, and reveals that the gun was loaded with blanks. Loss Colonel Sasha Patel of the Caprica Department of Military Procurement visits Daniel at his home laboratory to check on the progress of the U-87 military contract. She calls Daniel on his delay in delivering the robots due to the difficulties of reverse-engineering stolen technology, referring to the theft of the MCP from the Vergis Corporation. Daniel tries to deny this. She tells him that Defense may have turned a blind eye to this, but Procurement knew what they were getting into. Daniel is supposed to deliver on the contract in one month. The longer the project drags on without results, the more embarrassment it causes the Department. Therefore, Colonel Patel moves the deadline up to the next week knowing Daniel will not be able to deliver. Meanwhile, Vergis makes a deal with Colonel Patel to get control of Graystone Industries if he promises robots that work and a share of civilian applications. She tells him that he will get the company and the contract - guaranteed. Soon afterwards Vergis acquires Graystone Industries and the Caprica Buccaneers. He delivers the U-87 military contract on time and on budget. Reclamation Having lost Zoe, Amanda, his company and even his pyramid team, Daniel Graystone is desperate enough to seek a meeting with Joseph Adama and the Guatrau (the boss of the Caprican Ha'la'tha), offering him partnership in the business of eternal life - the avatar program he had tried so mightily to create with Zoe's MCP chip. After Joseph and Sam Adama graphically make clear the Tauron's bloody philosophy, Daniel decides he is not cut out for business with gangsters and bows out of the deal. (3) Hope is revived for Daniel when Cyrus visits him with an update on the Cylon development. Although Vergis' robots fight and shoot well enough for the army, they do not have the artificial intelligence that the prototype had. Cyrus is infected by Daniel's vision, and decides to store the mangled prototype, instead of melting it down as Vergis ordered. Daniel's newly lit fire prompts him to revisit the Guatrau and enter into the shadowy project with him. (4) Daniel calls Amanda repeatedly, but she will not answer. She survived her suicide attempt and is convalescing in a secluded cabin with Clarice Willow. She eventually leaves him a message saying she needs time alone. Sam and Joseph Adama blackmail Graystone Industries' board members to get them to vote Daniel back in as CEO. If they cannot find incriminating evidence, they will set them up. Sam kidnaps Cornell Gast and brings him to Daniel's home where Daniel tries to blackmail him. Cornell refuses to succumb and calls Daniel a disgrace. He later commits suicide. Daniel has a hard time blackmailing board members he called his friends. Sam reminds him that as soon as Vergis came calling, his "friends" voted him out. Avatar Amanda Resurrection Program Ha'la'tha Complications Reuniting the Family Stopping the STO Daniel and Amanda rush to Atlas Arena to stop a terrorist bombing planned by the Monotheist terrorist group, Soldiers of the One. Clarice Willow and her husbands, Nestor and Olaf Willow, are the masterminds behind this plot to show the Twelve Colonies the desirability of Virtual Heaven. It is the day of the Caprica Buccaneers versus the Delphi Legion game. Daniel and Amanda subdue the television camerman, then thwart that attempt by deploying military planes with U-87 robots to descend onto the playing field. The robots eliminate every STO martyr with only minimal damage to the arena. The Shape of Things to Come Behind the Scenes General It has been suggested that the Cylon Model 7 (Daniel), was based on him. However, this theory is based solely on their shared name and contradicts statements by series creators that the humanoid cylon models are not in fact based on specific humans. Season Two "The Caprica Times" website interviewed Kevin Murphy about what would have happened if Caprica had been renewed for a second season. Below is an excerpt from the interview. The Caprica Times: Lacy, together with Odin, has risen to power among the Monotheists. But what happened to Mother? Kevin Murphy: I would never ever kill Meg Tilly! She’s in exile and wants her old job back. She would have had a killer scene with Stoltz, as Daniel would see her as an uneasy ally against Clarice. Neither wants to see Clarice stirring up a robot insurrection. Clarice would have been allied with Lacy, so this would have created a father/daughter firestorm once Zoe got wind of what Dad was trying to pull against her once and future BFF. (5) Cultural References * Phoebus (mythology) * Olympos References 2. "Gray Matters." Caprica: Season 1.0, created by Ronald D. Moore and Remi Aubuchon, special feature, Eric Stoltz's commentary, Syfy, 2010, disc two. 3. Start-up - from Syfy.com (edited) 4. Ibid. 5. Capricatimes. "The Caprica Times Exclusive Interview: Kevin Murphy. The Caprica Times, 29 April 2011. Category:New Cap City Category:Graystone Industries